Hi there,
Most drain cleaners I have seen are all just sodium hydroxide based (alkaline), recently in a plumbers merchant I seen a 91% sulfuric acid drain cleaner. Are both ends of the PH scale just as effective? Or are the acid drain cleaners and caustic soda suited to different kinds of blockages?
David wibbled on Saturday 26 June 2010 12:52
Hi,
Caustic is good for fats and some organic scunge.
Acid is good for scale, which might be acting as a physical anchor for fats and scunge.
So either may be effective, or one might work better than the other for certain blockages.
Personally, I've always stuck with caustic for drains as it's usually fat or organic matter that's causing the problem.
bit more info
Acid eats metal, if its a real bad clog and the acid sits for days you will weaken the pipes. Ive ruined a few P traps with acid. The acid will also eat the porcelin finish if it sits, if safe drain cleaners fail it time for a rodding.
Just make sure you don't try a bit of each :-) At 91% that would be some violent reaction. I always reach for the plunger first, then take the trap off, then shove a hose up the waste pipe. Never needed a drain cleaner yet
Just make sure you don't try a bit of each :-) At 91% that would be some violent reaction. I always reach for the plunger first, then take the trap off, then shove a hose up the waste pipe. Never needed a drain cleaner yet
You are dead right about both ends of the ph scale. Caustic is very good for fats, so I use that for kitchen blockages.
I use the One Shot 96% sulfuric stuff fairly often, much more effective than caustic soda on paper based blockages & hair build ups. Its very nasty stuff, much nastier than caustic.
Dont let it come into contact with plated wastes, it will ruin them. Use a small funnel to get it into the pipe. It will take the surface off of GRP baths as well.
Its very effective albeit a bit scary.
Wrong: it is alkalis that etch glazed finishes: acids, with the exception of hydro-fluoric - which, hopefully, most people would not be able to obtain - do not dissolve glassy things. Alkalis - even mild ones - do etch glazes, and I have plenty of ruined glasses and pyrex dishes as the result of SWMBO insisting on putting them in the useless heap of wasted space & stainless she calls a dish washer.
Caustic soda and other alkalis, will certainly damage porcelain finishes - which is why detergent packets always say not to be used in a traditional bath tub. The main reason caustic can be effective in unblocking sinks is that it dissolves hair - as you will find if you ever try to 'restore' an old bristle paintbrush with caustic: you end up with just the handle.
As we have noted here before, caustic granules/flakes (if these can still be got) can be pretty effective at blocking drains themselves, as they tend to weld themselves together into one solid chunk that takes vast amounts of water to wash away.
One place where an acid flush might help is in the pipe that the washing machine empties into: this is nearly always full of undissolved powder that has set into a semicircular lump down the whole length of the pipe - in my experience: but I find the quickest way of removing this is to run the garden hose (the stiff kind) up the pipe from the other end. Has to be done a couple of times a year: it announces it's necessity when the sinks start gurgling. (Thinks! That could be another explanation for the mystery flooding washing m/c question...)
S
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And wearers of anything natural fibred will find that, no matter how careful they think they have been at handling the acid, their clothes will be full of holes next time they come out of the wash. I also find I tend to be scratching quite a bit afterwards too: it might be psycherlogical but...
S
I hope you then give them a >smack< for putting fat down the sink in the first place. After two blockages SWMBO has got the idea now (not from the >smacks
Thanks for the information :)
Highly toxic and very corrosive hydrofloric acid is used by one hand car wash place here, the product is called Autosmart ALi readily available by a rep who happily serves public and trade. The 25 litre containers have that scary looking toxic label on it.
And that's only 5% hydrofluoric IIRC... Scary stuff
WTH have you seen that? It's stronger than battery acid.
Yes, scary stuff indeed. You can also get another product made by Sterling called Ali Clean Super which is hydrofluoric acid 24%. See alternatives to recommend:
It's something like this:
Most plumbers merchants at around £6. B&Q at around £10.
I Googled for a description, Amazon came up
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